"This is something that I'm in favor of, and we should stand united with other York County municipalities that have signed onto this," said Council President Henry Nixon.

"This is a part of a statewide effort to form a public commission that is neither Republican nor Democrat, but simply a citizens' commission for fair redistricting," he added.

More than 250 Pennsylvania cities, towns, boroughs and counties have already made similar resolutions, according to Fair Districts PA, a nonprofit volunteer organization that aims to end partisan gerrymandering.

"(The amendment) doesn't quite establish everything that an independent citizens' commission would bring, but it certainly is measured to bring more fair redistricting in the state," Vandersloot said. "However, the movement has been growing, and I'm glad that municipalities have been embracing that."

Although the amendment doesn't duplicate the desires of the proposed resolution, it's in the council's best interest to support it, said Vandersloot, referencing a May 21 news release from Fair Districts PA, for which he volunteers.

"We believe the (state Sen. Mike) Folmer amendment is a fair compromise with the original proposal, addresses a variety of legislative concerns and is a vast improvement over the current system, which cuts the voters out of the process of drawing districts," the news release stated.

Nixon agreed that the amendment is a step in the right direction.

"Anything that would at least improve the redistricting process is something I support," he said. "I applaud these efforts of trying to make it more fair."

All that's left to do, Vandersloot said, is to get the House "on board" with the recent amendment made to the Senate bill.

Redistricting bills in the Senate: Senate Bill 22, proposed by Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton County, was amended in the state government committee and will now head to the Senate floor.

The bill had been sitting in the state government committee since last February. The committee is chaired by Folmer, a Republican who represents Lebanon and parts of Dauphin and York counties.

Under the recent amendment, unlike Boscola's original plan for a citizens' commission, the redistricting process still would be left up to legislators.

The commission would consist of four Democrats, four Republicans and three independents. Eight would be chosen by a leader from each party in both chambers and the three independents would be chosen by the governor.

Seven votes would be required to approve a new congressional map. Therefore, bipartisan cooperation would be necessary to draw new district lines. If they are unable to agree, the Legislature would have to come up with a two-thirds vote after a 10-day public comment period.

Redistricting bills in the House: In the past year, the House State Government Committee has gutted two Democrat-sponsored redistricting proposals that would create an 11-person citizens' commission.

Instead, the committee, chaired by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler County, both times voted to amend the legislation to create a six-person commission, which would include one legislator from each chambers' caucuses and two from full votes by the chambers in unison.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler County.(Photo: .)

Irritated Democrats have tried to circumvent the committee.

House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, wrote a letter to House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, requesting that Democratic bills would be sent to a different committee where they would see fair treatment.